This invention relates in general to time-space-time (T-S-T) telecommunication switching systems, and in particular to an interface interconnecting the space stage to the time stages in a T-S-T switching system.
Time-space-time (T-S-T) switching systems are a configuration of digital switching elements providing both time and space translation between channels of time division multiplexed (TDM) telecommunications transmission lines. The T-S-T network of a switching system interconnects digital bi-directional TDM communication lines with TDM communication involving the sharing of single transmission paths, individually, in time, to provide multiple channels in a single transmission medium. The construction of such a T-S-T network comprises the connection of a spacial stage between the two time stages.
In such a network, digitized data is presented to a time stage for momentary storage in memory. At the appropriate time the data is bused to/from the space stage via a time shared switching path and then gated to a second time stage. Temporary buffering of the digitized data is normally required in order to ensure that the data transmitted or received is valid.
In T-S-T networks where the space stage is configured to provide a first switched path among a first or a second set of time stages (intra-path) or a second switched path between the first and second set of time stages (inter-path) an interface between the time stages and the space stage is required to selectively send and receive the digitized data to both the intra path and inter path of the network.
It therefore becomes the object of the present invention to provide an interface for each time stage of the digital switching system to interconnect to the space stage of the network when configured with both intra and inter connecting paths between the time stages.